ARMONK, N.Y., April 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE:
IBM) today announced that it has teamed with American Honda Motor
Co., Inc. and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on a new
pilot project that will allow communication between electric
vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate
and test an electric vehicle's ability to receive and respond to
charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle's
battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy
providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging
during peak hours and create consumer-friendly programs to
encourage electric vehicle adoption.
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The energy requirements for electric vehicles will challenge the
current power grid as plug-in vehicle counts continue to grow to an
expected 2.9 million worldwide by 2017. This project has the
potential to ease the infrastructure and consumer concerns
associated with the mass adoption of EVs, by adding another layer
of agility to the EV charging process. This level of intelligence
will help make charging seamless for consumers, while ensuring the
electricity source is reliable and the infrastructure is
stable.
This demonstration combines grid and vehicle data to create an
individualized charging plan for Honda's Fit EV battery electric
vehicles (BEV), using IBM's cloud based software platform. By
utilizing the existing in-vehicle communications system in the
Honda Fit EV, the electric vehicle can interact with utilities and
the grid, creating a direct channel for sending and receiving usage
information that could improve local grid management.
"This pilot project with IBM and Honda will help us demonstrate
that third-party providers have the systems and capabilities to
help meet some of the challenges that electric vehicles could place
on the power grid as their adoption increases in the coming years,"
said Saul Zambrano, senior director
for consumer products for PG&E. "With updated charging patterns
for EVs, we have the ability if needed, to shift demand to non-peak
times to ensure the reliability of the grid so that we can continue
to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy to our
customers."
Once plugged into a charge post, the Honda Fit EV initiates a
charge request via the vehicles telematics system, an integrated
telecommunication application that is often used for navigation.
This request is sent to IBM's Electric Vehicle Enablement Platform
where vehicle data such as battery state and grid data received
from PG&E, is combined to create an optimized charge schedule,
which is then communicated back to the vehicle in seconds. Using
this aggregated data, the vehicle has the intelligence to charge to
the level that is needed while factoring any current grid
constraints.
Using real time and simulated data, the system will test and
demonstrate the ability to alter, as well as adapt charging
patterns based on grid conditions. This smart charging capability
will enable energy providers to manage the power used by EVs during
peak times by instructing vehicles to delay or adjust charging if
required.
"One of Honda's main objectives is to work to advance
technologies that can address society's environmental and energy
concerns through both alternative powertrain technologies, like our
2013 Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle, and through
groundbreaking research initiatives similar to the Smart Charge
project that we are collaborating on with IBM and PG&E," said
Steven Center, vice president of the Environmental Business
Development Office at American Honda. "It is our hope that these
technologies and infrastructure will pave the way for EVs of the
future to be synched to local electric grids to intuitively and
seamlessly manage charging experiences."
Additionally, the IBM EV platform can collate historical EV
charging data and create a profile that can be used to forecast the
location and duration of EV charge loads. For example, the program
can determine how many EVs are plugged in one neighborhood and the
time it will take for each to reach a full charge. This level of
insight will allow utilities to optimize grid operations and help
reduce the chance of outages – a possible concern as the number of
EVs increase.
"The growth and success of EV adoption is reliant upon many
factors, ranging from vehicle price and performance, to
infrastructure readiness, to the consumer experience – a scope that
cannot be addressed by one sole
industry," said Allan Schurr, Vice
President, Strategy and Development of IBM's Global Energy and
Utilities Industry. "This project with Honda and PG&E
represents a significant step towards building an intelligent
infrastructure that integrates capabilities and technologies across
three major players. We are creating a system that allows electric
vehicles to communicate with the power grid – this is
groundbreaking."
Convenient Consumer Charging
By communicating information directly to the vehicle, this
project has the potential to significantly improve driver services.
For example, the IBM's cloud based platform could provide charge
post location information and availability directly to the EV,
using the telematics and Satellite-Linked Navigation to guide the
driver to the most convenient place to charge.
This project along with the recently announced EKZ Smartphone
Application (app) pilot will help engage consumers and encourage
more drivers to "plug in." The smartphone app shows the vehicles
battery level, range of travel distance, vehicle location, and
current energy costs in real time. This technology coupled with the
ability to communicate directly with charging stations via a GPS
system, will offer consumers a uniquely "connected" driving
experience.
In addition to the two pilot projects, IBM is currently a member
of the EcoGrid EU consortium, a group focused on developing an
energy grid that uses at least 50 percent of renewable energy
sources, such as wind power, solar energy and biogas. Instead of
just using car batteries to balance the load like EDISON, the
EcoGrid consortium is using appliances, heat pumps and electric
water heaters to also store excess energy.
IBM and Smart Grid
IBM is involved in more than 150 smart grid engagements around
the world, in both mature and emerging markets. More about IBM's
vision to bring a new level of intelligence to how the world
works—how every person, business, organization, government, natural
system, and man-made system interacts, can be found here:
http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet
For more information about Smarter Energy at IBM, please visit:
www.ibm.com/press/smarterenergy. Follow us on Twitter and
LinkedIn.
About Honda
Honda offers a diverse lineup of 11 cars and trucks that include
the mid-sized Accord, the compact Civic line-up of seven individual
models, CR-V crossover SUV and Odyssey minivan. Honda also offers a
wide range of fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles that include
the Insight hybrid, Civic Natural Gas (compressed natural
gas-powered vehicle), Civic Hybrid, CR-Z (sport hybrid coupe), FCX
Clarity (fuel cell-electric vehicle) and the soon-to-be-released
Fit EV (electric vehicle). Honda's 2013 Fit EV battery electric
commuter car, based on its popular Fit hatchback, targets an
estimated 123 mile per charge (city-driving scenarios) and can
fully recharge its battery in as little as three hours when
connected to a 240-volt circuit. For more information about the
Honda Fit EV battery electric vehicle and to sign up to become a
potential Honda lessee, please visit Honda's Fit EV Facebook
page.
Contacts
Fabienne Guildhary
IBM External Relations
Tel: 917-472-3733
Fguildhary@us.ibm.com
Angie Nucci
American Honda Public Relations
Tel: 310-781-4443
Angie_Nucci@ahm.honda.com
Jason King
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Tel: 415-973-6665
j3kg@pge.com
SOURCE IBM